Maybe This Time
by Magoo
Summary: Romance. Fluff. Christmas. And everyone's favorite Werewolf.


Author's Note- Suddenly I have discovered that I wrote H/G fluff. Of course, being me, Remus is in it as well, but…. Anyway, thanks to the Queens for giving me the excuse. And many thanks to Leesie for beta- reading! Oh, the title of this story comes from a really good song in Cabaret. If you haven't seen the play or heard the soundtrack, I suggest you do so.  
  
Maybe This Time  
  
By Magoo  
  
"Wong, Mei," McGonagall's voice rang across the Great Hall.  
  
A young girl quickly ran over to the sorting hat and jammed it over her head. There was a pause and…"Gryffindor," called the sorting hat.  
  
The girl, the last of an unusually long line of first years ran over and took a seat at the end of the bench.  
  
Professor Dumbledore rose at the front. "Welcome back to another year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Due to the circumstances of Voldemort's," at this point he was interrupted by a gasp coming from across the Great Hall, "resurrection, there will be a curfew enforced. I would also like to remind our students," he continued, glancing pointedly over at five members of the Gryffindor table," that the Forbidden Forest is off limits, and that you can only go to Hogsmeade during designated times." Taking a deep breath, he continued, "I also have some good news. Professor Lupin has been kind enough to rejoin our staff this year."  
  
Whatever it was that Professor Dumbledore intended to say next, he proved to be unable to continue, due to the massive amount of noise coming from every corner of the hall. The Gryffindors were cheering at the top of their lungs, the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs were either clapping joyously or shrieking in fear, and the Slytherins were screaming protest.  
  
Sitting at the end of the Gryffindor table, Mei Wong looked extraordinarily confused. "Excuse me," she said to the girl sitting next to her. "Would you please tell me why there is all this fuss about a teacher?"  
  
The girl smiled. "Sure," she said. "My throat is starting to hurt anyway. I'm just so glad to have Professor Lupin back. I'm Ginny… you're Mei, right?" At her nod, Ginny continued, "See, Professor Lupin is a werewolf."  
  
Mei paled and looked like she was going to fall off her chair. Ginny scowled. "Oh, calm down," she said crossly. "The moon isn't even full for another two weeks. Besides, he's perfectly safe and he was the best Defense teacher that we've ever had."  
  
By this point, the cheering had drowned out the protests and was halted by the headmaster. Food was also beginning to appear on the table.  
  
Ginny smiled encouragingly. "Don't worry about it Mei," she advised. "Just dig in!" And they did just that.  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
Ginny spent the dinner half conversing with Mei and telling her about Hogwarts, and half staring at a certain dark-haired boy sitting by her brothers.  
  
'He looks so happy,' Ginny thought to herself. 'After how rotten the beginning of the summer was, he really needed to be back here.'  
  
"Ginny," a voice broke in. "Hey Ginny." Ginny looked away from Harry and turned back to Mei. "You're staring at that guy. Is he your boyfriend or something?"  
  
"No Mei," Ginny replied in an exasperated tone. "Those are my brothers and their friends. That's Fred and George (the twins) and Ron. Those three are my brothers. The guy sitting next to Fred is Lee Jordan, and the girls in front of each of them are their girlfriends, Angelina, Alicia and Katie. The girl sitting next to Ron is Hermione Granger, she's a prefect and probably the smartest girl in school. She and Ron are also sort of a couple."  
  
"Sort of?" Mei inquired.  
  
"They are, but they think we don't know about it. And the guy across from them is Harry Potter."  
  
Mei did a double take. "The Harry Potter?" she asked incredulously.  
  
Ginny nodded. "Yeah, that's him." Her voice trailed off. 'Harry Potter, my hero. Even Ron finally noticed Hermione, so why won't he notice me? Maybe this year…'  
  
Ginny looked over again and froze. Harry was looking at her. No, not at her she realized. Cho Chang was at the next table over. 'Turned down for a quidditch player,' Ginny thought miserably. 'Now he'll never notice me. He'll be too busy trying to catch her snitch.'  
  
Ginny turned back towards Mei. "So, what else do you want to know about Hogwarts?"  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
Harry turned away from Ginny, trying to hide the flush rising in his cheeks. She had seen him looking at her. Glancing one last time at the curls of gold cascading down Ginny's back, he turned back towards his friends, away from his desire.  
  
"So Harry," Hermione continued. "It must feel great to have Professor Lupin back."  
  
Harry nodded. "Yeah, a whole year to spend with one of my father's best friends," he said happily.  
  
"Plus, we'll be sure to learn a lot in Defense this year. It's such a good thing that he's here now, since we have the O.W.L.s at the end of the year," Hermione continued.  
  
Ron spit out a piece of his treacle tart. "O.W.L.s?" he asked in shock. "Hermione, that isn't until June! There's no point in thinking about it now. Plus, you're beginning to sound like my mother."  
  
Harry tuned out the familiar argument between Ron and Hermione, and looked back at Ginny. She was deeply involved in conversation with one of the first years. From the sound of it, Ginny was warning her about potions with Professor Snape.  
  
'That's Ginny, always so kind, caring. Wait a second Potter, what are you thinking? That's your friend's little sister you're staring at! Plus, you know she's kind and caring, so why…'  
  
The sound of Ginny's laughter chimed from across the table. She and Mei were listening to Neville tell the story of his encounter with the Snape boggart.  
  
'No, why is she staring at him like that? She should be looking at me that way. I mean, I know they went to the Yule Ball together and I haven't ever given her a hint that I, but, doesn't she know how much I care?'  
  
"Hey Harry," a voice broke in.  
  
"Oh, what did you say Fred?" Harry replied.  
  
"I was saying that we really need to choose a new Quidditch Captain and find a new Keeper."  
  
Harry nodded. "So who's going to be Captain?"  
  
Katie laughed. "Well, you are, obviously. After all, we're going to be leaving at the end of the year, so you would be Captain anyway. You need the practice breaking in a team."  
  
"Congratulations Harry," Ron called, quitting his argument with Hermione to join the conversation. "This means you'll let me try out as Keeper, right?"  
  
"Of course he will," George called out. "After all, you spent the whole summer practicing."  
  
Still laughing, the group walked out of the Great Hall and headed for the common room. As they walked down the corridor, Harry glimpsed Professor Lupin heading towards his office. "I'll meet you in the common room," he called as he headed towards them.  
  
"Harry, where are you going?" Fred called.  
  
"Leave him be," Angelina replied. "He needs this."  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
Hurrying down the corridor, Harry caught Remus at the office door. "Hello Professor Lupin."  
  
Remus chuckled. "Call me Remus, or Moony, when you're not in class, Harry. You used to when you were a baby." Opening the door to his office, Remus gestured for Harry to join him.  
  
"How is," Harry began, but Remus cut him off.  
  
"Sirius is fine, Harry," he said with a smile.  
  
"No, Pro, I mean Remus. I mean, it's good to know that Sirius is safe, but I was going to ask how things were with you."  
  
"Oh, well it's nice to be back here. But that isn't important. What is important is that you are okay."  
  
Harry glared at him. "There's no reason to be worried about me. I mean, it was… I'm just a little…"  
  
"Confused?" Remus supplied.  
  
Harry nodded. "After everything that happened last year, and then staying with the Weasleys for the second half of the summer, as well as the whole Ron and Hermione thing. Oh, and Voldemort's back too. It's just so…" his voice trailed off.  
  
Remus smiled. "I think the word you're looking for is 'complicated', Harry. That's what life is. Unfortunately, we're at war so you have to deal with that. The rest of it all sounds like normal teenage stuff, although it does appear to me that you're leaving something out."  
  
Harry opened his mouth, but Remus stopped him before he had a chance to speak. "I don't expect you to tell me anything you don't want to. I know Sirius is your godfather and you have a very close relationship with him that you don't have with me. But I do have some advice: Trust your heart and follow through. Maybe this time will be the right time, and maybe it will be wrong. Just make sure you take your opportunity before you lose it, before…" Pain briefly crossed Remus' face.  
  
"Thanks Remus," Harry said, standing up to leave. "But can I tell you something?"  
  
Remus glanced up, surprise evident on his face. "Of course you can."  
  
"Well, you may not be my godfather on paper, but you've always been there for me and I consider you to be my godfather as much as Sirius is. I'm just not very good at showing it."  
  
"Neither am I, Harry," Remus smiled. "But I love you too."  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
Harry left Remus' office, still troubled by his conversation and his complicated feelings. 'Okay, Remus first, Ginny second,' he thought to himself. Harry knew from conversations with Sirius that Remus had an inferiority complex the size of Malfoy's ego. 'And can I really blame him? I mean, he's practically my mentor third year, and then Sirius comes back and I all but forget about him. I guess I did sort of ignore him, but I still love him. He and Sirius are the only family I have left'  
  
Harry groaned. This line of thinking was getting far too maudlin. Back to his other problem; a certain red head in fourth year. After getting to spend the summer with her, Harry had seen first-hand how great a girl she truly was. She wasn't just that mass of freckles who happened to be Ron's little sister with the crush on him anymore. She was special. A girl. A cute girl at that. He had seen her spunk, her resolve, and her determination for himself. She was no longer a nonentity, she was a person. A person that he was very much in like, if not love with.  
  
Still troubled, Harry walked back to Gryffindor tower.  
  
Remus stared at him from his office. "What is it with Potters and red heads?" he chuckled to himself. A smile crossed his face. "I wonder," he said as he closed the door.  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
Life continued as always for the next few months. Professor Lupin's class once again became everyone's favorite. The Gryffindor Quidditch team remained undefeated. Ron was a good Keeper, although he had to deal with his elder brothers teasing him almost nonstop. Hermione was busy being prefectorial, fighting with Ron and worrying about the O.W.L.s. Harry and Ginny were avoiding each other. Both felt they could never speak to each other, until one day in Defense Against the Dark Arts…  
  
"A dance!" Colin Creevey exclaimed. "We're having a dance!"  
  
Professor Lupin nodded. "The Headmaster has decided to hold a Christmas dance this year." There was a groan from one of the boys. Remus grinned. "If you prefer, we can hire a bunch of Goblins to sing Christmas Carols."  
  
The class laughed, remembering the now infamous Lockhart incident. Ginny blushed, the memory of her valentine to Harry still stung, even three years later. 'Eyes as green as a fresh pickled toad indeed, what was I thinking?'  
  
As Professor Lupin dismissed the class, he called Ginny over to his desk.  
  
"Yes Professor?" Ginny said nervously. After all, besides being her favorite teacher, he was practically the father of the boy she loved.  
  
Remus looked down at her. "You know, Miss Weasley, you may want to listen to this advice. You don't have to take it, but you certainly should listen. All throughout your life, you'll be too old for one set of things, too young for another, and the timing will be wrong for another set. Maybe this time," Remus paused for emphasis. "Maybe this time is the right time."  
  
Ginny left Professor Lupin's classroom extremely confused. What was he suggesting? That she should ask Harry to the dance? That maybe he liked her too? Or was Professor Lupin trying to set them up?  
  
Still troubled, Ginny set off towards the common room.  
  
Remus glanced at Ginny's retreating back. "You know Prongs," he said quietly. "You and Lily were so much easier to set up then these two."  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
Harry sat up in the common room, trying to ignore the sight of his two best friends snogging in the corner under a bunch of mistletoe. 'I know its Christmas' he thought miserably. 'But was it really necessary to decorate every inch of the school? Not to mention that Moaning Myrtle really shouldn't be singing Christmas Carols.'  
  
He sighed miserably, and his thoughts turned towards the words Remus had said to him on the first day of school. 'Maybe this time' he thought wistfully. After all, the dance was tomorrow. Maybe Ginny didn't have a partner yet. Maybe she would…  
  
Harry's thoughts trailed off as a vision of beauty entered the common room. Ginny Weasley was perhaps the brightest sight he had ever seen. Remus' words re-echoed through his head. "Maybe this time," Harry whispered to himself as he got to his feet and headed towards her.  
  
He looked at her and spoke. Whatever sweet words he had intended to say vanished out of his mind and he could only stammer. "Uhh, Ginny," he began.  
  
She looked up at him, smiling. "Yes, Harry?"  
  
"Never mind," he said, and began to turn away, feeling that he had blown his one chance.  
  
Ginny looked at him. In his eyes she saw hope and fear, with some love behind. She knew she loved him. She also knew he loved her as well. But then she thought of how much he had hurt her. How he had lusted after Cho Chang for the last two years. Professor Lupin's advice flew from her head, and her Weasley temper got the better of her. Hermione's words of the past year came back to her. 'Not as a last resort.'  
  
"Do you want to go to the dance with me?" she asked.  
  
Harry grinned at her. "I'd love to," he said.  
  
Ginny smiled, not her usual sweet smile, but one full of anger and danger. "Next time, don't wait for the last minute!" she snapped. "Ron learned his lesson with Hermione, but you obviously still want me as some replacement for Cho Chang."  
  
Harry looked shocked. "Ginny," he began, but she cut him off. "Potter, I've been in love with you for years, since the first day I set eyes on you. But I refuse to be a replacement for someone else. You're in love with Cho Chang, there isn't a person in the school who doesn't know that. But I don't want to be a second string player, one who doesn't even really make the team. And you didn't even have the courage to ask me yourself! Go find your Ravenclaw, they aren't exactly known for their courage. I'll wait to find my own prince." With those words, she pranced out of the common room and up the stairs.  
  
Harry looked stricken. He truly did love her. Was he to be forever cursed due to his previous immaturity? Had he now lost Ginny forever?  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
The next week at the dance, Harry went by himself. He didn't know who Cho Chang went with, and neither did he care. Why didn't Ginny see that it was she whom he adored? Was he forever to blame? Harry paused outside the entrance to the hall where the dance was to take place. He no longer wanted to go. Glancing outside, Harry noted that the moon was just past full. Professor Lupin had mentioned that he wouldn't be at the dance. Thinking quietly that as Ron and Hermione would be too busy with each other to even notice he was gone, Ginny hated him for how he had treated her and Professor Lupin was probably resting, he had no reason to be at the dance. Turning, he began to head towards the common room when a voice called his name. It was Mei Wong.  
  
"Potter, what are you doing?" she asked. Harry opened his mouth to respond, but then shook his head and continued walking away.  
  
"You really ARE an idiot, aren't you!" Mei said from behind him. Harry stopped short. He had no intention of taking that sort of abuse from anyone, least of all a first year. He turned around to say something, but Mei continued her tirade.  
  
"She loved you, you know, she's just scared of being hurt again. Of all the stupid, callous ways to treat a person, you are such a lousy little git! You were supposed to go after her and apologize for everything, for almost using her as a second fiddle last year, for treating her as just this little girl with a crush on you. You were SUPPOSED to go after her and tell her how you fell in love with her. Didn't you know that? It's practically standard operating procedure in these cases. Boy meets girl, boy falls in love with girl, boy loses girl and then he fights to regain her. You're up to the fighting part Potter, go finish the story, will you?" Then Mei turned and flounced into the hall.  
  
Harry was furious! What did this stupid first year prat know, anyway? But a little voice in the back of his mind began to speak, quietly at first, then gaining in volume and intensity. 'She's right, you are a git. No better then Malfoy. At least he knows how to treat a girl, since he has Pansy continuously fawning over him. Go finish the story so you can go live happily ever after already.' Remus' words followed. 'Just make sure you take the opportunity before you lose it.' Making up his mind, Harry headed into the dance.  
  
Ginny was sitting alone, staring out at all the dancers. She was beginning to have second thoughts. True, she was making Harry miserable, but now she was miserable herself. She had almost made up her mind to go back to her dormitory and cry her eyes out when someone tapped her on the shoulder. She whirled around, and looked into the emerald eyes of Harry Potter. He was holding out a rose to her.  
  
"Ginny," he began. "I am so sorry for everything. I know that I haven't always been the most responsible person in the world, and that for years I made you suffer, thinking of you as only Ron's sister. Just as some little kid. Please, forgive me for everything. I love you Ginny Weasley. Not Cho Chang. Please, give me another chance."  
  
Ginny took the rose he proffered and inhaled deeply. She smiled up at him. "You know, we are standing under the mistletoe. We might as well put it to good use."  
  
As they kissed for the first time, they were completely oblivious to the cheers echoing around the hall. The only thing they could later remember, was hearing Ron's shout of "Took you bloody long enough!" as they broke apart.  
  
"Maybe this time really was the right time," Ginny whispered to Harry. And then she was silent as he kissed her again. 


End file.
